Noticeboard

PLEASE NOTE

Our Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Julie Cooper, has now retired. Please make your appointments with another clinician. We wish Julie a wonderful retirement.

Dr Monica Uppal has also moved on to pastures new. Although she no longer works at this practice she may help us out from time to time. Please make appointments with another clinician.

CASH CLINIC

The drop in clinics run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9.30 am until 11.30 am.

Help Is Only A Call Away ...

999 and A&E Departments are for life threatening emergencies. For everything else call 111 for free, 24/7. Trained staff can give you immediate health advice and direct you to the right care in your area.

Have You Had Your Meningitis ACWY Vaccine Before Coming To University?

YES - If the answer is YES brilliant, the vaccine will protect you against some of the most common causes of bacterial meningitis in the UK. (You still need to register with us as you never know when you might need us).

NO - If the answer is NO, you need to get it NOW! Please come to the health centre to register and if you are under the age of 25 ask for your Meningitis ACWY vaccine.

Make sure you know the signs and symptoms of Meningitis and Septicaemia as vaccines don't protect you against all types! For more information visit: https://www.meningitisnow.org/

Latest News

We are now a parkrun practice.

We are excited to tell you that we have become a parkrun practice. In an exciting and innovative initiative, the RCGP is collaborating with parkrun UK to promote the health and wellbeing of staff and patients. Under this initiative, GP practices across the UK are encouraged to develop close links with their local parkrun to become parkrun practices.

What is parkrun?

Free, weekly 5k events, every Saturday morning, in areas of open space

2k junior parkruns for 4-14 year olds and their families on Sunday mornings

Over 850 locations across the UK

Organised by local volunteer teams

Walk, run, jog, volunteer or spectate - take part in any way that suits you

Open to all, including those who are inactive or have health conditions or disabilities

Opportunity to socialise, make friends and be part of a welcoming, supportive community

Involvement in this initiative will help practices:

Improve the health and wellbeing of practice staff

Improve the health and wellbeing of patients and carers, reducing the need for lifelong medication

Raise awareness amongst the parkrun community of services that practices provide

Contribute to the development of a local community and environment that is centred around wellness generation

Support the UK-wide movement to scale up social prescribing activities

Preparing for EU exit - medicines FAQs (patient guide)

Will I still be able to get my prescription medicines and medical products?

Yes. The Government is working closely with the NHS and suppliers to make sure medicines and medical products continue to be available in all scenarios. Occasionally, however, the NHS does experience temporary shortages of specific medicines. If this happens, you will be prescribed the best alternative to your usual medication as is normal. This will ensure that your treatment continues as normal.

If there are any shortages of medicines after EU Exit, your doctor or pharmacist will advise you of the best alternative to treat your condition, as per normal.

This will typically be a different brand of medicine or perhaps lower strength medicines to make up the same dose. On rare occasions, it may mean a different medicine to do the same thing, but prescribers will be supported on how best to do that should it be necessary.

Should I keep ordering my repeat prescriptions and taking my medicines as normal?

Yes. There is no need to change the way that you order prescriptions or take your medicines. Always follow the advice of GPs and other health professionals who prescribe your medicines and medical products. There are enough medicines and medical products to meet current needs but if patients order extra prescriptions, or stockpile, it will put pressure on stocks, meaning that some patients may not get the medicines they need.

Should I ask my GP for a larger or longer prescription?

No. GPs will continue to prescribe medicines and medical products as normal.

Will I still get my medicine if I am on a clinical trial?

The NHS and the Government is working with organisations running clinical trials to ensure that research continues as normal in the coming months. They have encouraged these organisations to consider their supply chains for clinical trials, and to ensure appropriate supplies of trial drugs and medical products are in place.

Will any routine NHS operations be cancelled?

Planning for EU exit has been developed in partnership between the Government and the NHS to try and make sure that there is as little impact upon the NHS as possible. The NHS will make every effort to prioritise care for patients in emergencies and minimise disruption to routine patient care.

What is being done to make sure medicines and medical products continue to be available?

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been working closely with the NHS, pharmaceutical companies, suppliers of medical devices, and supply chains to make sure medicines and medical products continue to be available in the event of a no deal EU exit.

Since 2018, DHSC has been working with all pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only medicines and pharmacy medicines to the UK that come from, or through, the EU or European Economic Area (EEA). DHSC has been asking companies to ensure they have extra stocks available in the UK by 29 March 2019.

Where these medicines have a short shelf life, DHSC has asked companies to ensure that they can fly these medicines in from the EU in the event of no deal. The NHS Supply Chain organisation is holding extra stocks of medical products.

To ensure that there will be enough space available for extra stocks of medicines and medical products, the Government has secured extra warehouse space including refrigerated and controlled drug storage that companies can use to store products.

The Government has also put in place extra shipping for suppliers to use on a variety of routes to ease pressure on the short straits crossings to Dover and Folkestone. This includes capacity on ferries to Poole, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Immingham and Felixstowe. The Government has agreed that medicines and medical products will be prioritised on these alternative routes.

What medicines and medical products are being included in the stockpiles?

The stockpiling programme is for medicines and medical products that would require a prescription or that you would usually get under supervision from a pharmacist, and that are either made in the EU or contain ingredients or components that are made in the EU.

Will information about specific medicines and medical products be made available?

The NHS and DHSC will be monitoring the medicines and medical products supply chain very carefully and we have well-established mechanisms to deal with supply issues when they do arise.

DHSC circulates regular updates about supply issues affecting medicines used in primary care and secondary care to the NHS, including to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), hospitals and other secondary care providers. DHSC also liaises with specialist clinical groups, patient groups and other relevant networks to share information about supply issues that may affect specific patient groups.

There are existing systems in place to cascade messages quickly to the NHS and others for patient safety alerts, important public health messages and other safety critical information and guidance. If a specific medicine shortage emerges then prescribers and pharmacies will be quickly alerted to the situation and advised accordingly.

What about over-the-counter medicines and medical products?

Pharmacy medicines, which can be bought over the counter from a pharmacy are covered in our stockpiling plans. General sales medicines and medical products, which can be sold in general retail outlets without the supervision of a pharmacist are not included in this stockpiling work because there are multiple alternatives available should any of these medicines and medical products be subject to a short-term supply disruption.

What about the supply of blood and blood products?

There are some medicines that are derived from blood plasma such as immunoglobulin, albumin, and clotting factors. As these are licensed medicines, they are included in the medicine supply plans.

The United Kingdom is largely self-sufficient in blood and blood components and does not routinely export or import these products, except for relatively small quantities of plasma which are imported by NHS Blood and Transplant for use in those born after 1996 as an agreed safety measure. In very special cases NHS Blood and Transplant do export or import very rare blood for urgent clinical need, usually in single unit quantities. DHSC is working closely with NHS Blood and Transplant, which is leading on the contingency planning for blood and blood components to ensure continuity of a safe blood supply.

What about vaccines?

Public Health England (PHE) manages significant stockpiles of vaccine for the national immunisation programme, as part of their business as usual planning. It is working closely with vaccine suppliers to ensure replenishment of these existing stockpiles continues in the event of supply disruption in the UK, for example, agreeing increases in supplier’s own UK stockpiles.

DHSC is also working to ensure that there are sufficient stockpiles of vaccines for other NHS and non-NHS uses i.e. uses outside of the national vaccination programmes such as for travel and occupational health purposes within its medicines contingency programme.

What about unlicensed medicines and specials?

DHSC has met many unlicensed and specialist suppliers and asked them to ensure that by March 2019 they have a minimum of six weeks additional supply in the UK in case of a no deal scenario. Other suppliers are also being contacted. In addition, unlicensed medicines and specials manufacturers are working to ensure sufficient ingredients in the UK to ensure continuity of supply. As with other medicines, unlicensed medicines will be prioritised in the Government’s agreed alternative.

Please look at our Privacy Notice. Under Further Information

Car Parking

We would like to inform you that we operate an Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera controlled car park management system here at the Health Centre.

Patients and visitors must enter their full, correct vehicle registration into the terminal at reception to be entitled to up to 1 hour free parking whilst in the Health Centre ONLY. Blue badge holders - all terms and conditions apply. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions will result in a parking charge of £70. We are unable to rescind any parking tickets issued.

If you are going to be at the Health Centre for more than one hour please inform reception.

CASH Drop in Clinic

From Monday 16th January 2017, the University Health Centre will be offering a drop in Contraception and Sexual Health Clinic (CASH) from 9:30am to 11:30am daily. ‘Pills’, ‘morning after’ pill, condoms, STI screening for both male and female patients. You do not need to book an appointment for this - just turn up!

Please note pre-bookable CASH clinic appointments will be available daily from 8:30am to 9:30am.

*This service is for registered patients only*

The Base Kirklees

20 and under? Need support around your substance use? The Base are here to offer support!

Please speak to a clinician about attending one of our drop-ins at the health centre.

Drop ins: 1st Friday of every month 1pm-3pm.

Telephone: 01484 541589

Meningitis Vaccine

Meningitis and Septicaemia can kill very quickly! As a fresher you are in a high risk group, particularly in the first few weeks of term.

Have you had your Meningitis ACWY vaccine before coming to university?

YES - If the answer is YES brilliant, the vaccine will protect you against some of the most common causes of bacterial meningitis in the UK. (You still need to register with us as you never know when you might need us).

NO - If the answer is NO, you need to get it NOW! Please come to the health centre to register and if you are under the age of 25 ask for your Meningitis ACWY vaccine.

Make sure you know the signs and symptoms of Meningitis and Septicaemia as vaccines don't protect you against all types!